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We are thrilled to feature Olena Talapa on the cover of GLAM Week magazine. Olena is a Ukrainian beauty queen, model, and fitness enthusiast who has made a name for herself in the world of pageantry. In this exclusive interview, Olena shares her journey to becoming a beauty queen, her passion for fitness, and her latest project as the National Director of TRANSCONTINENTAL UNIVERSE PAGEANTS EUROPE & CANADA. Join us as we delve into the world of Olena Talapa and get inspired by her dedication and drive
Elena, you are intelligent and beautiful, a woman whose example inspires. As a successful entrepreneur and owner of T-style interior textile salons, you won the Transcontinental 2023 beauty pageant and Mrs. Ukraine International 2021. I know that it wasn’t easy for you at the Transcontinental 2023 pageant in the United States: the airline lost your luggage with your dresses, and then you doubted yourself and wanted to leave. What helped you focus on winning? What opportunities opened up when you became a beauty queen?
Well, it’s not going to be easy. No matter how successful and experienced a woman is in business, when simple things happen – like losing my luggage with all my dresses and gifts, especially when you’re thousands of kilometers across the ocean in a foreign country – at first, you feel despair. But then you calm down, try to pull yourself together, and think about how you’ll manage. Different action plans are built in your head in seconds. I even thought about looking for a fabric or curtain store somewhere and, like Scarlett O’Hara, sewing something overnight. But the main thing is to believe in the fact that everything will be fine in such situations.
And fortunately, the next day they did find my luggage.
This stress, long flight, and time zone change – surprisingly, all of this mobilized and gathered me, didn’t allow me to relax – I had never felt such concentration and confidence before. I told myself – if everything was resolved so well at the beginning, then everything will be good from now on. Some transformation took place. I became stronger.
You admit that you have been in love with your business for 17 years, and this love is not affected by crises or even wars. Tell me how your “romance” with textiles and design began. Did you immediately envision your company as international with markets in Europe and Canada? When you were studying business, who did you look up to and receive help from?
Oh, wow! My love for beautiful textiles continues and hasn’t faded for over 17 years now. It all happened unexpectedly. My first education was in law, and I worked in that field for a while, even taught at the university. It all started with a renovation in my apartment. Strange things were happening – the workers were late, the furniture didn’t arrive on time… I had to take control of everything personally, and I got so caught up in it that when the renovation was finished, I decided to learn a new profession – interior design. And I especially enjoyed selecting beautiful curtains, so one day I took out a loan from the bank and opened my first small shop. I followed my heart to where I found joy in my work every day. The legal field was finished for me forever.
Many years have passed, and today I successfully run four of my own interior textile and decor salons in Ukraine, several representations in Europe, and even now, during the war, I took a risk and opened another salon in Ukraine. In addition, I started my own brand of interior textiles and every year for the past eight years, I have successfully presented new collections to the world.
After the war started, eight families took shelter in your apartment, and you invested all your money in sewing plate carriers for the soldiers that your workshop in Uzhgorod made for free. How did you manage to achieve such quality that they started selling at three times the price? Where did you get the resources to support yourself and motivate others?
The war brought a lot of suffering to my country.
When the first bombs hit, I was sleeping in my bed in my Kiev apartment. The explosion was very close. I had every chance of dying. At that moment, I thought I had died. I thought that everything, all my business, everything I loved, would be a thing of the past. What war was really like, I only knew from Hollywood blockbusters and books. But when you experience it for real – believe me, it’s many times worse. It’s unimaginable that the most brutal things are possible in the center of Europe these days.
A large number of people were left without their homes in just a few days. I have an apartment in Western Ukraine – I moved there and opened my doors to people who were completely strangers to me. They slept on the floor… The people were different, but I became very good friends with some of them.
At that time, I was willing to give everything to stop it as soon as possible. Part of my stock of fabrics was cut into small pieces – some were woven into camouflage nets, others were used for Molotov cocktails… When the fabric ran out, I cut up my entire wardrobe. I went to the dumps myself – picking up bottles for incendiary mixtures. There was nothing there at that time. At all.
Imagine facing the heavily armed Russian army, their tanks, with Molotov cocktails and camouflage nets made from curtain fabric… Then the military came to me asking to start sewing bulletproof vests. I had a small workshop for sewing curtains, so I immediately agreed. However, at that time, I did not realize how difficult it would be. My equipment was not suitable for these processes at all, and special technology had to be followed. I purchased expensive equipment at my own expense, some of which turned out to be defective, but there was nowhere to make claims as the supplier’s company had already been bombed at that time…
We did most of the process manually – burning the ropes with candles and lighters, and painting each detail with pencils. We had to involve a huge number of people for such work, and most did not want to work for free, so we had to charge a certain fee for sewing.
I had no more strength left, but only a mad belief in the victory of good over evil helps not to give up, to get up every morning and keep going. My work, my decisions have saved many lives and helped people in the most difficult moments. These thoughts give me strength. That’s why I stayed in Ukraine. I am needed here.
Share the secret of how you manage to look stunning and be so energetic. What beauty and health rituals do you strictly follow?
There’s no secret. I get very tired, and sometimes I have no energy at all. I don’t eat on a schedule. Sometimes my day consists of a glass of water, a cup of coffee, and a serving of cottage cheese. Other times, I can indulge in pizza. For dinner, I drink dry red wine, go to bed very late, and wake up very early.
But the only thing that is always a priority for me is sports training. I adore the gym and strength exercises. Afterward, I feel much more energized.
And a person retains their youth as long as they are capable of going after new and new goals.
And now, I have taken on a new project in Europe. I have become the National Director of the Transcontinental Universe Pageants Europe & Canada, which is the European representation of a globally famous beauty contest held in America where I won the main crown. The uniqueness of the contest is that there are different groups of women based on age and marital status – participants can apply at the age of 45+ or at 25 years old, have children, be married, or divorced.
And now, I am preparing to hold such a competition in the capital of Hungary – in Budapest at the beginning of July this year. And I really hope that such a competition will be held annually in Europe from now on.
